AUCA Magazine American University of Central Asia
June 2013
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AUCA Magazine | June 2013
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
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Published by American University of Central Asia | Bishkek | Kyrgyz Republic
CONTENTS Feature: Creativity 22 Experiencing Haiku
07 Editor’s Note 08 Letter From The President University Update 09 Becoming a Sustainability Leader 10 “Debut” Theater’s 10th Anniversary 13 New Environment Program at AUCA 14 Professor Makhinur Mamatova 16 CASI Spring Workshops 18 Professor Galina Gorborukova 20 TSPC Round Table 21 AUCA Debate and Chess Teams In Action
Winning Essays 24 A Tale About a Human 27 Freedom and Interconnectivity 29 Freedom and the Law 31 What Does It Mean To Be Human? 33 On Being Human and Humane AUCA Spotlight: 34 Выбирая Журналистику 36 Мастер-класс “Красивые ногти” Catching up with Business Administration ‘99
AUCA Magazine American University of Central Asia, founded in 1993, is dedicated to educating leaders for the democratic transformation of the region. It is the most dynamic and student-empowering education available, and is the only university in Central Asia with the authority to grant degrees accredited in the United States. AUCA equips its graduates with the knowledge and skills necessary to solve problems and open doors in this rapidly changing and developing region and the world beyond...
Publication team Editor-in-Chief: Sven Stafford Copy Editors: Nick Robbins, Svetlana Jacquesson Contributors: Natali Anarbaeva Altynai Sydykova Nick Robbins Svetlana Jacquesson Dinara Orozbaeva Sven Stafford
Pictures: AUCA Archives Aaron Choi Emil Akhmatbekov Natali Anarbaeva
Design and Layout: Emil Akhmatbekov
On the cover: "Creative writing" by Emil Akhmatbekov
You may send your correspondence and subscription inquiries to: AUCA Magazine | American University of Central Asia, 205 Abdymomunov St., Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic 720040 | Tel./Fax: (996 312) 66-45-64, E-mail: magazine@mail.auca.kg, www.auca.kg
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AUCA Magazine | June 2013
EDITOR’S NOTE Published by American University of Central Asia | Bishkek | Kyrgyz Republic
EDITOR’S NOTE
When I was growing up one of my favorite things to do was systematically destroy my parents’ house by sledding down the stairs, diving into piles of couch cushions, and throwing balls through windows. Today I would not say that I have grown up as much as I have grown out of this behavior. It is much harder for a 6’8” kid to find a big enough couch on which to dive. Yet it is special to be young in a new environment that is calling to be explored, unburdened by the expectation that you ‘know better’. That feeling of exploration will greet 230 AUCA graduates on June 1st, as they receive their diplomas at the first official event to be held inside AUCA’s new campus. Whether they know it or not, they will be building new traditions that future classes will only be able to amend, and will carry on with the building as long as it stands. As the graduates leave their mark on the new campus, they will simultaneously be entering a new phase of their lives, armed with all the critical thinking, honesty, and leadership that can fit. More surprising is the amount of creativity they possess, which is why I have no doubt that commencement will feature something unexpected and fantastic, and why it is a pleasure to work for AUCA students. In this issue of the AUCA Magazine, we try to bring you some written examples of this creativity, not only from AUCA, but from students at our partner university Bard (USA), and students in the Bard network from Al-Quds (Palestine) and Smolny (Russia). These students, all united by the liberal arts, bring their creativity and perspective to bear on the theme “What it means to be human”. To me being human is being able, once in a while, to return to that primitive state where couch cushions do not stand a chance, and windows undergo an explosive reaction as projectiles burst through. I wish that for every AUCA graduate this year, as well as for all of our readers. Of course, the windows would have been fine if my brother had ever caught the ball. And that is the other part of being human, sharing those experiences with another, as well as the blame.
Sincerely,
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Sven Stafford Editor-In-Chief
AUCA Magazine | March 2013
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PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
At AUCA, we pride ourselves not so much on teaching our students some specific information, but rather on allowing them the space to explore what interests and moves them both inside and outside the classroom. Essentially, this means, or should mean, that we encourage them to develop their creative side insofar as possible within the bounds of a university curriculum. From my perspective, this is indeed the most valuable thing we can do for them; for if the educational freedom we make possible leads them to release their inner creative impulses, our students will ultimately contribute to their society in ways neither they nor we can predict.
Andrew B. Wachtel President
To be sure, there are many ways in which creativity can be expressed. Within the academic program, it starts with freshman orientation and first year seminar, where students work through ideas in small groups with committed faculty. They are not trying to achieve any specific goal in terms of knowledge (though of course they all do read a specific set of material). Instead, they try to ask open-ended questions and explore a variety of answers to them, recognizing from the beginning that there is no single correct answer, merely a number of solutions each having its positive and negative sides. With any luck, the process of creative exploration continues throughout the four years of study at AUCA, culminating with the senior thesis project. As I write this, we are in the midst of senior thesis defenses, and I am proud to watch as our seniors stand up in front of an audience of faculty (both ours and outsiders) to explain the thought process and results of their independent projects. Although many of them suffered a lot in the course of the year (as, sometimes, did their advisors), it is heartening to see the confidence with which most of them can present the results of their thinking and writing. Hopefully, the creative problem solving skills they have honed during their time at AUCA will carry over into the rest of their lives, and separate them from students at many other institutions who have accumulated knowledge but not the ability to deploy it in a spirit of open-ended discussion. At the same time, AUCA tries to provide extracurricular possibilities for our students to enhance their creativity: debate, musical and dramatic performance, photography, and movie-making are all offered and an enormous percentage of our students take advantage of these opportunities. Come to our main building any evening of the year, and you will be sure to find a least one group of students rehearsing for some kind of upcoming performance. This is one of the things that defines the AUCA spirit, and it informs the work of many of our graduates. Although we do not have formal programs in design, directing, or musical performance, many of our most visible graduates are precisely involved professionally in these areas, which indicates to me that their education at AUCA did indeed help them to liberate their creative potential. In this magazine, we describe for you a number of our recent experiments with bringing creativity to the classroom. I am sure that as we develop, there will be more and more such possibilities for our students, and that these will come to define an AUCA education appropriate to create fulfilled and successful citizens for the 21st century.
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AUCA Magazine | June 2013
BECOMING A
By Martin J Ossewaarde
SUSTAINABILITY LEADER
On Monday, March 18, the focus shifted to what major stakeholders can do to enable all of us to live more sustainable lives. The Talk Show ‘Let’s Talk Sustainability’ began with a short film produced by JMC-student Bakhodir Ergashev. It showed a range of environmental and social problems whose causes are rooted in faulty human technology, institutions and behaviour. Public figures such as Ban Ki-moon called on societies and leaders to change course for the sake of ourselves, our neighbours, and our children. Talk Show host Saikal Nogoibaeva then asked guests Vladimir Grebniev (UNDP - pictured right) and Aibeyke Esengulova (Grundfos) for their understanding of sustainable development and their own part in bringing it about in Kyrgyzstan. Our guests expressed great satisfaction to be involved in activities that improve people’s lives while also preserving and protecting natural resources.
campus and to introduce a study programme that enables students to major in sustainability. Both decisions are based on the conviction that AUCA has a responsibility to prepare leaders that can lead their organisations and communities to long-term sustainable development. In order to be credible, AUCA has to lead by example, so that’s why the university is investing in energy efficiency and renewable resources ahead of many others. There is a long-term financial pay-back (20+ years), so this is no charity, since the new campus should serve us several decades longer. Saving energy and water will make us much less dependent on the state’s overstretched public services. The new campus will not only be a building that hosts learning people, but it will itself be an opportunity for experiential learning. We expect many outsiders to come and see how sustainable construction works. Many renowned universities around the world have gone before us, but we may be proud to be the first in Central Asia!
development has not yet gained much popularity in the region, our guests said they were pleased that AUCA is showing leadership by opening a new major program in this area. Indeed, they assured interested students that there are enough jobs for the graduates that AUCA will be producing. Besides, they agreed that all AUCA graduates should have at least some basic knowledge of sustainable development and be able to explain how their field of major connects with sustainability. Such a possibility already exists in several general education electives and in the option of declaring a minor in sustainability. From September these new initiatives will get a human face as Dr Daniel Cartledge, the new coordinator for sustainability, is arriving from the United States.
Although the field of sustainable
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The beginning of Spring is a good occasion for a festival that celebrates new life in nature and inspires new hope in people. That has been an ancient tradition among the peoples of Central and West Asia. Today a new reason has appeared to celebrate the bounty that Earth provides for us as long as we treat her well. AUCA’s first Green Week (16 to 20 March) gave center stage to initiatives and lifestyle changes that express our love day by day for the Earth. The activities of the first two days included an art from waste competition among school students, and a tree planting event at AUCA’s new international dorm.
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UNIVERSITY UPDATE
Finally, after a slide show on the new campus, AUCA’s Sania Battalova, Sven Stafford and Martin Ossewaarde were asked to explain why our university had decided to build a sustainable new
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
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THEATER
“The audience can exist without a theater, but the theater cannot exist without an audience.”
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AUCA Magazine | June 2013
Published by American University of Central Asia | Bishkek | Kyrgyz Republic
UNIVERSITY UPDATE
On March 1, 2013, the AUCA Student Theater “Debut” celebrated its 10th Anniversary. Over 50 alumni and students took part in the concert, organized by Dean of Students, Nikolai Shulgin, and the Student Affairs Office. Alumni revived scenes from past shows, from when they were AUCA or AUK students. The current generation of “Debut” also performed on the stage with songs and dances. Spectators filled the Philharmonic for the event, which attracted not only those associated with AUCA, but also many from the Kyrgyz entertainment industry including the director Bolot Shamshiev, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Public TV and Radio Company Farhad Bekmambetov, singers Janetta Bobkova, Julia Rutskaya, Salkynay Aliyeva and Nurbek Savitahunov, actor Azamat Arykov, and showman Kuban Atabekov. All of the funds raised from the concert were donated to the Belovodsky orphanage.
talents deserve special praise. If they are able to tolerate me, then I believe that they will be able to achieve anything in their lives. An audience can exist without a theater, but the theater cannot exist without an audience,” said Shulgin. Aizada Tynyeva - Assistant to the Dean of Students: “For 10 years “Debut” has held a festival of friendship all over Kyrgyzstan. Last year we traveled to 6 cities to promote tolerance, understanding, and creativity. Today we are holding a charity concert in honor of the 10th anniversary of the theater. We are thrilled to have the chance to invite back alumni to perform, and get to know the next generation of the theater.”
“I often participate in such events. Honestly, I did not expect that the students of AUCA would be able to put on a concert like what I saw today. The acting skills of the students are almost on a par with professional actors. Such events have their own rules. The concert should keep an audience’s attention so that they will not fall asleep. This “Debut” concert was one of those concerts.” See the photo report of 10th Anniversary concert on AUCA facebook page:
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Battle of Generations The concert was memorable for the fact that the alumni tried their hardest to outperform the students. Songs were all performed live, dances were full of passion, and the jokes were delivered with aplomb. None of the performances left the viewer indifferent. Every student and former participant in the theater group got at least one chance to perform. First, the older generation (2003-2007) performed on stage, followed by the middle generation (2008-2012), who also showed their skills. The current generation closed the concert. The last number of the evening was performed by Salkynay Aliyeva, who sang about children, and was accompanied on stage by AUCA staff and their children. This performance created a warm atmosphere in the audience and touched the soul of every spectator. Julia Rutskaya and Nurbek Savitahunov also performed new songs. Not everybody knows that Julia, Salkynay, and Nurbek, who are already well known in the region, got their start performing at “Debut”. Their participation added to the excitement, and AUCA always provides a safe environment for artists to experiment with new material and encourages them to be creative and brave in their performances. The concert was a great success, and an example of the talent AUCA has been able to attract over the years. Nikolay Shulgin, the director of “Debut”, has been responsible for the theater’s success over the past 10 years. “Thank you all for coming! The students who performed today and showed their
Azamat Arykov - actor:
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
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UNIVERSITY UPDATE
GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT
SUSTAINABILITY
The American University of Central Asia and the Kumtor Operating Company anounced a joint project to develop the next generation of environmental leaders. In fall 2013 AUCA will open a new innovative program in Environmental Management and Sustainable Development. Kumtor will provide seven scholarships to the first group of students, and is sponsoring a scientific laboratory at the new AUCA campus, the construction of which was also supported by the Company. The program is divided into two tracks: Society and Policy, and Natural Resources and Energy. The curriculum will be developed by AUCA Sustainable Development Committee, made up of local academics, environmental activists, and businessmen. The creation of the
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Environmental Management and Sustainable Development program was prompted by Central Asia’s urgent need for environmental leaders and AUCA’s mission to support the region’s transition to a development path that balances social, economic and environmental interests. This program perfectly fits the university’s mission of training enlightened and impassioned leaders, who think globally and act this out locally in the specific conditions of Central Asia. More information can be found through the link: www.auca.kg/en/ sustainable_development. «Kumtor is proud to be a partner of AUCA and the new environmental program, and is excited to be part of the project. I am confident that the Department will not only educate environmental and sustainable development
specialists, but also enhance the overall environmental responsibility of the students. During this academic year, the Company will provide seven scholarships, and the best students will be invited for internships. We will also search for other creative ways to support their professional development”, said Micheal Fischer, President of Kumtor Company. Elida Nogoibaeva, Dean of Faculty: “We are excited to be offering this new program that will challenge the way that most students think about the environment and the natural world around them. We are also thankful to have Kumtor as a supporting partner, and hope that the opportunities they provide for students to study in this program will produce a new cadre of environmental leaders.”
PSHYCHOLOGY SPOTLIGHT:
MAKHINUR MAMATOVA
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UNIVERSITY UPDATE
When I first started FYS I thought it was challenging and complex, and I was wondering how it would be possible to teach the material to the students.
sat down with the counseling psychologist in February, 2013, to talk about the challenges of being a professor. You first came to AUCA in 1998. What was your initial impression then as a part-time faculty? I was only brought on to teach one course at the time, Intro to Psychology, and my first group was actually students in the Law program. What I was really amazed by, coming
from Slavonic University where I was finishing my Ph.D work, was that everyone was speaking in English. It was everywhere. The other thing I noticed was how close the students were to each other. It was a much tighter community of students back then, and the spirit they carried around with them was infectious. In fact, I am still friends with some of those Law students that were in my class that first year.
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
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Makhinur Mamatova has been a professor of Psychology at AUCA since 1998, when she joined as a part-time faculty while completing her Ph.D. In that time AUCA (then AUK) has done a lot of growing up, made some mistakes, and had some victories. Makhinur thinks that all of this is normal for a “teenage� university testing the waters. Makhinur has also done a lot of growing at AUCA, spending almost all of her professional career here. I
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Psychology, and were the chair of the department from 2002-2008. What can you tell us about the Psychology department and what our students are working on?
So what do you think, then, is the biggest difference between those 1998 students and today’s AUCA students? Well I think that the university has grown, and that is really the biggest difference. In 1998 the university was just getting started, the classes were small, and it was possible to know everyone. Today that is not the case, so it means that the students have to make choices about who they spend their time with, and what projects they work on. I think that the university still maintains its elite status, and that is largely due to the fact that great students continue to come to AUCA, grow, graduate, and become successful. One of the differences is our relationship with Bard, but you have been deeply involved with that project. What can you say about how that relationship has made an impact at AUCA? I was one of the faculty that helped develop First Year Seminar (FYS) for implementation at AUCA. Together with Bard faculty, including Peg Peoples, we created a truly different experience for both students and faculty. For students, the biggest difference between FYS and their other courses is that FYS is theme-based, not discipline-based. This means that students of Economics are mixed together with students of Software Engineering, and together they tackle really complex themes, such as the symbolism of the Grand Inquisitor, from Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.
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This material is hard for adults, let alone freshmen entering their first semester and learning in their second language. Furthermore, these students are mostly used to being lectured at, and FYS is really based around seminars and class discussion. At the beginning most students are really lost. It is not that they do not understand, but it is just confusing stuff. What is great for us as professors is when they finally start to get going, when they can examine the hidden messages in the language of the Grand Inquisitor. The students start to see what previously was invisible to them. And what do you as a professor get out of it? The best part about FYS is that we get to co-teach it. It is not even co-teaching as much as it is collaborative teaching. I work with Lance Tillman in FYS. I work on the reading component and he works on the writing component. It is great to have him there because we can provide feedback and see each other from a third side, not just as a student or a professor. When I first started FYS I thought it was challenging and complex, and I was wondering how it would be possible to teach the material to the students. The support you get from the faculty, and especially your collaborative partner here is really the key. It has allowed me to grow as a professor, and inspired me to try new and different techniques in the classroom. You are also a professor of
Being a psychologist is really about helping people. My specialty is in Clinical Psychology. I defended my dissertation at St. Petersburg State University in 1999, and since then have been doing research, teaching, and also practicing as a counseling psychologist. The courses I teach in the Psychology department are related to counseling: Psychology of Personality, Abnormal Psychology, Intro to Counseling, and Methods of Group Psychotherapy. The goal is to introduce students to ways in which behavior can be modified and adapted to help people through their lives. Central Asia in general is home to more traditional cultures, and it is not really accepted, as in Europe or the United States, that people sometimes need to seek help outside of their immediate family. However, we are starting to see this change in the sense that I notice more and more people seeking professional counseling, and our students are a part of that change. Many of them now have their own practices. One, Nastya Slastnikova, has a practice that focuses on children and parents. Another, Roman Yumatov, is now in Great Britain studying psychoanalysis and wants to open a practice here when he finishes. I think that many of the students who come to us also want to put their skills into practice, and, at the end of the day, psychology is an applied field. Our students have a long history of going on to graduate school and getting professional degrees so that they can practice in different fields of Psychology and Social Sciences. Makhinur, thank you for your time, and if we have any problems, we will let you know. Thank you. My door is always open, but we also have a full-time counselor available to all students, faculty, and staff who need help.
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UNIVERSITY UPDATE
CASI
SPRING WORKSHOPS
It is past five o’clock in the afternoon and our normally swarming campus is deserted. The Miss AUCA 2013 competition does not augur well for the start of the CASI spring series of workshops. However, fifteen minutes later all these worries have proved groundless. Both the “reclining” and “working” seats in room 315 are filling up. The first surprise is gender-wise: some male colleagues have turned up. The second surprise comes five minutes after the scheduled start of the workshop: Roza Otunbaeva, former President of Kyrgyzstan, hurries in and casually takes a working seat left vacant by chance. A good beginning makes a good ending. Room 315 was always crowded, and even sometimes overcrowded, during the series of workshops. These workshops allowed six faculty members to go “public” after having gone “native” thanks to 2012 CASI research grants. Their presentations introduced us to the Kyrgyz communities in Xinjiang and Heilongjiang and the Tablighi Jamaat movement in Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan. They made us follow the daily itineraries of Kyrgyz migrants in Kazan and Saint Petersburg and walked us through the streets of Urumchi, Kashgar, Artush and Tacheng, drawing our attention to the strategies of language use in banking, shopping and catering.
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The research topics appealed to surprisingly diverse audiences. It was widely acknowledged, for instance, that AUCA’s room 315 was the only place in Bishkek where the representatives of the Tablighi Jamaat movement, the Muftiyat and the State commission on religious affairs, not only came together but also united in dealing with scholarly analyses, questions and comments from students, faculty, researchers, NGOs and activists. We hope that these highly interactive workshops proved inspiring to the faculty grants recipients and we look forward to the publication of their research results. Finally, we would like to acknowledge that some of the workshops’ successes were due to CASI and Anthropology.kg working so well together.
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
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UNIVERSITY UPDATE
NEW MA IN CENTRAL ASIAN STUDIES
In Fall 2013, AUCA will welcome the first group of students for its newly established Master of Arts program in Central Asian Studies. The program is a step forward in turning AUCA into the best teaching and research university in Central Asia. It has two main goals: it acknowledges the high level of qualifications of AUCA faculty members and provides them with an opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with graduate students; it also offers both foreign and local students a unique chance to experience Central Asia while studying. Why then speak of challenges? To start with, the fact that “area studies” seem to be falling out of favour worldwide does not help, neither does the fact that Western “area studies” and Soviet or post-Soviet regionovedenie are false friends. The easy translation of one into the other is misleading: these are two different ways of knowledge acquisition and knowledge production, with different methodologies and different goals. Second, MA degree students worldwide are currently facing funding difficulties. They try to be rational in choosing their possible futures and
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are both cautious and demanding in terms of academic programs and degrees. Last but not least, the ongoing reform of higher education in Kyrgyzstan may produce occasionally adverse effects and instead of supporting innovation and creativity, it may stifle them. How do we face these challenges? We are not afraid to admit that we are attempting to redefine “area studies”. A look at the core field courses (available at http://www.auca. kg/en/core_field_courses/) may suffice but let us nevertheless give some indications about how we are doing it. For better or worse, we focus on Central Asia, i.e., in alphabetical order, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. We aim for depth instead of breadth and have decided to disassociate the region from Eastern Europe or Eurasia. We also distance ourselves from the idea of studying the region as being Soviet or post-Soviet. We try instead to understand its surprising dynamics in the present. In order to do so, we utilise the tools and methods of social sciences (anthropology, sociology, political science, international relations and economics). We focus on
the main driving forces behind these dynamics – development, governance, nationalism, religion, mobility and globalization - and contextualize them in both the present and the past. We aim to allow the region to speak for itself and studying the region’s languages is a basic requirement for the program’s students. Another major advantage of our program is that it intertwines learning and practice. Whether on campus or in the city, the program’s students have a unique opportunity to constantly experience Central Asia: our university’s students and faculty come from all over Central Asia and beyond, Bishkek is home to a myriad of regional and international organizations and travel to Kyrgyzstan’s neighbouring countries is affordable. Academically our program is both rewarding and sustainable. We will be working to offer attractive tuition fees and will hopefully be able soon to provide some scholarships. Finally, we believe that our training of the first and ensuing groups of students will be the quickest way of getting the program recognized in Kyrgyzstan.
SOCIOLOGY SPOTLIGHT:
LIVE AND LET LIVE
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UNIVERSITY UPDATE
Students do better work when they have to share it with the world.
researching at AUCA since 1999.
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Sociology is a favorite topic of Central Asians, though few identify the science with their everyday conversations. Kyrgyz differ from Turkmen in one way, while Kazakhs pour tea differently than Tajiks, who in turn pour it differently than Uzbeks. Though anecdotal, these conversations provide the questions on which sociological research is based. At AUCA, the sociology department is tackling these questions which are important to the region and its renewal as a group of independent nations over the past 22 years. The department is led by Galina Gorborukova, who has been lecturing and
Galina orginally studied history. It was only when she was looking for a masters degree program that she was directed to sociology by a trusted professor. Galina told me in an interview that she did not really know what sociology was when her professor suggested it, but once she read about it and got into the courses, she knew that she had made the right decision. In particular, Galina was intrigued by the changing dynamics of identity after the fall of the Soviet Union, and she did her dissertation on the
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
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UNIVERSITY UPDATE
changing Russian community in the Kyrgyz Republic. Galina is part of one of the strongest faculties at AUCA; one that includes gender expert Gulnara Ibraeva, and Mehrigiul Ablezova, an expert on environmental change and migration. The department is always trying to push itself into new areas and to explore different ideas of teaching and learning. As the leader of the department over the last two years, Galina has used her energy to innovate and inspire withing the department. This includes constantly revising the curriculum to stay up to date with the most recent research and relevant topics for the region, including a focus now on identity and religion. Galina is one of the AUCA professors pushing for integration of technology into the classroom. In her class “Identity and Differences”, Galina introduced a class wiki for assignments. Instead of students working individually on papers to turn into the professor, students were collectively responsible for answering class questions on the wiki. There was a participation requirement, and Galina found in the first semester that the quality of the work was much higher. “When the students know that nobody will see their work except the professor, they will, once in a while, turn in some trash because they have wasted time or not done the reading. With the wiki it has been different. Students don’t want their peers to see that they are not doing the work. It not only brings down the entire class grade, but it is embarrassing for our students. They are competitive and want to get the best grade, and with the wiki the only way for them to do that is by producing something they are willing to share with the rest of the world,” said Galina. Galina is also a very active researcher, working with international organizations such as UNDP, the World
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Bank, OSCE, and Soros Foundation. She is currently involved, with other Sociology faculty, on a three-year project from the Volkswagen Foundation to compare livelihood strategies of private households in the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan. The research is conducted in collaboration with the Otto-Von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg in Germany, and L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National University and Al-Farabi University in Kazakhstan. In the project Galina has assisted with designing the household survey, and in collecting and processing the raw data. (Results of the research can be found at http://www.uni-magdeburg. de/fgse/node/114#) In the future Galina hopes to grow the Sociology Department and convince future AUCA students of the value of a Sociology degree, especially in a region that is not producing many sociologists. The Sociology Department will be heavily involved in the new Central Asian Studies masters degree program, the first such degree to be offered in Central Asia that will open in the fall of 2013. The Sociology department also organizes events such as Alternative Women’s Day, an event held before International Women’s Day on March 8th, that aims to empower and celebrate women as individuals and important contributors to society, and severely pushes against the traditional Central Asian view of women. Galina told me that her motto is “live and let live”. This is understandable coming from a region where opression of different minority and majority groups has been the norm, especially over the past 100 years. Galina and her colleagues in the Sociology department are working with students and the wider community not only so that we can live and let live, but also live better.
TSPC ROUND TABLE
The Tian Shan Policy Center (TSPC, http://auca.kg/eng/tspc/), a policy think tank within the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), is now implementing its project, “Protecting the Rights of Kyrgyz Migrants: Utilizing Policy Analysis, Public Outreach, and Stakeholder Dialogue to Mobilize Action toward Reform, 2012-2014”, with support from the Central Eurasia Program of the Open Society Foundations. This work is proceeding within the framework of TSPC’s activities on migration and social protection. The project aims to raise awareness and foster dialogue to develop new strategies and more effective institutions and programs to protect Kyrgyz labor migrants and their families. TSPC is conducting research and analysis
on international standards and best practices that can help to promote more robust government and stakeholder consideration of a comprehensive national migration policy. As part of this project, TSPC also plans to create an Internet-platform for an Information Management Centre on Migrants’ Human Rights Protection, which will be available for free to the public, researchers, and government agencies. Since the project began last fall, TSPC hosted a Workshop with the participation of leading experts from research centers and international organizations dealing with labor migration. The goal of the earlier workshop was to gather the most up-to-date information, identify gaps in protection of labor migrants, and prioritize a number of important spheres for prospective research. Based on the results of the Workshop, TSPC developed a follow-up report reflecting all of the issues identified by participants in the course of discussions and clarifying a new research agenda. The report and all other related documents are available at http://auca.kg/en/migration_projects/. To foster dialogue among stakeholders, in January, 2013 TSPC co-organized a seminar for the Working Group on Establishing National Public Council on Migration in Kyrgyzstan, of which TSPC is a member. The goal of the event was to develop agenda for the newly establishing Council. The participants developed an Action Plan and schedule of activities, as well as planned the licensing procedures of the Council.
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The Tian Shan Policy Center at AUCA arranged a Roundtable “International Experience on Protection of Labor Migrants’ Rights and Its Application to Kyrgyzstan” on March 26, 2013, at the Ala Archa Residence of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. The Roundtable brought together experts from government and international agencies, academic institutions, NGOs, and think tanks of Kyrgyzstan and the Migration Research Center of Russia to evaluate the preliminary findings of TSPC’s research on global best practices that can help Kyrgyzstan in developing its new strategic plan on labor migration. The Roundtable facilitated dialogue among stakeholder groups on the use of international practices to better protect migrant rights and identify recommendations for improving migration policies in Kyrgyzstan.
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UNIVERSITY UPDATE
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AUCA SPOTLIGHT
AFP CONFERENCE
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American University of Central Asia hosted over 150 regional and international fellows as part of the Academic Fellowship Program’s (AFP) Discipline Group Meeting from April 4-7, 2013. The meeting was co-sponsored by AUCA and the Open Society Foundations’ (OSF) Higher Education Support Program (HESP). The meeting hosted scholars in the fields of Anthropology, Economics, Journalism, Law, Psychology, Public Health, and Social Work.
The goal of the Discipline Group Meeting is to bring together all AFP regional and international scholars to encourage them to share their experiences, and also for them to develop joint research projects and partnerships. These meetings have resulted in publications, conferences, and joint projects, as well as the general development of a new cadre of well-trained scholars working in underserved regions of the world.
The meeting was opened by AUCA President Andrew Wachtel, with an introductory speech from Vice-Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, Joomart Otorbaev. Mr. Otorbaev told the group that because the Kyrgyz government is only able to spend limited money on higher education, institutions such as AUCA and OSF play a large role in bringing research skills to the region, and in helping to promote creativity and innovation. Mr. Otorbaev is a physicist by education, and remarked that in a different time and place he would have liked to participate in such a gathering.
In total, AFP has supported 607 regional scholars with advanced degrees from Western Institutions to return to their countries and take up professorships at local universities. At AUCA, since the inception of the program, over 50 local scholars have been supported. Gia Sharvashidze, the director of AFP, reported that 80% of AFP scholars continue teaching at their home institution once they go off the program after 6 years.
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
Mr. Sharvashidze also noted that although AFP has traditionally focused on Eastern Europe and Central Asia, within
the next three years AFP’s focus will shift to different regions of the world, including new programs in Myanmar, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Cuba. The phaseout of AFP in this region is in many ways a reflection of the success of the region as a whole, and the desire for a more diverse group of donors to begin playing a role in the development of regional research and partnerships. The Director of HESP, Jacques Fremont, was also in attendance, making his first trip to the Kyrgyz Republic. He praised the Kyrgyz Republic for being an enclave of openness in Central Asia, and AUCA for continuing to push new and innovative ideas about education in the region. Mr. Fremont noted that the traditional models of education in the US, UK, and Canada are models that are not necessarily applicable for countries in transition. The goal of HESP, therefore, is to help newly transitioning countries such as Myanmar learn from countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia that have experience and valuable lessons to share.
AUCA DEBATE TEAM WINS DEBATE TOURNAMENT The American University of Central Asia (AUCA) team won the “Debates of the Open Society” television project on the First Public TV Channel of Kyrgyzstan. The project was organised by IDEA Cental Asia together with the Soros Foundation - Kyrgyzstan’s Youth Program, in partnership with the Public Television Radio Corporation of Kyrgyzstan. The show started on 15 September 2012 and was aired fortnightly on Saturdays during prime-time, ensuring an audience of several thousand viewers. The six month-long project saw leading debate students from eight universities in Bishkek discuss twelve relevant topics, starting with the flaws of the current migration policy of CIS countries to solutions for terrorism-related issues in the region. The format of the debates was unique. “Debates of the Open Society” is the closest television adaptation of the British Parliamentary debating
format. The project’s authors developed a simplified concept of the format which helped regular viewers better understand the debates. According to IDEA Central Asia’s coordinator Altynai Djumasheva, “Debates of the Open Society” made a significant contribution to debating in the region.
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“First, we were able to explain what debating is to the wider Kyrgyz television audience. Second, we promoted debating, exposing Kyrgyz youth to a positive image of it. As a result, huge numbers of students that are now willing to start debating, improve their speaking skills and develop their critical thinking call our office every day,” says Djumasheva. The project aimed to spread and encourage the implementation of democratic principles, while finding solutions for urgent problems that the Central Asian region faces. The project show is planned to restart in September.
AUCA STUDENTS WIN 2ND PLACE IN CHESS TOURNAMENT
Out of the 14 initial teams only 8 went on to the semifinals. AUCA students made it to the finals and debated against their opponents from Jalal-Abad. The American University
Team consisted Talapker Bekbasarov, a first year student in the Business Administration Department, Yana Shimkovski and Erlan Dzhumabaev. The final score turned out to be 1-1, but due to the fact that one AUCA team member lost a match, our team automatically received second place.
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From the 12th to the 14th of March a Chess Tournament took place at the Polytechnic University. Overall there were 14 teams participating from various universities from around the Kyrgyz Republic.
Third place went to the team from AUPKR. Jalal-Abad won first place.
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EXPERIENCING HAIKU By Nick Robbins
“From the very first class, hands shot up to share their haiku”, wrote Professor Steve Wolfe to me in an email regarding the haiku workshop that he taught this past March. A visiting scholar from the Faculty of International Communication at Ryukoku University, in Kyoto, Japan, Prof. Wolfe is an expert in the art of haiku, a form of Japanese poetry. The haiku workshop—which was a part of a broader course entitled “Experiencing Poetry”—ran for three weeks, during which time participants learned about the role of haiku in Japanese cultural history, how it compares to other forms of poetry from around the globe, and what purpose it serves. Ultimately, students were taught how to construct their own haiku and had to submit a final portfolio with 20 “fine-tuned [and] crisply edited haiku”, one of which had to answer the Zen Koan “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” says Prof. Wolfe. This wasn’t the first time that he had found himself in Kyrgyzstan. A seasoned visitor of this small, landlocked country, Prof. Wolfe had been here three times in the past helping run haiku seminars and workshops at various universities
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(including Bishkek Humanities University) with the volunteer organization “Teacher Helping Teachers”. It was because of these trips that someone suggested that he contact AUCA about putting on a haiku workshop. And that’s just what he did. “I met with [President Wachtel] and he was extremely creative and flexible in suggesting I come back to AUCA to conduct a haiku workshop”, Prof. Wolfe recalls. And so the poet stepped back into Kyrgyzstan for his fourth visit with the intention of teaching a workshop on haiku at AUCA and to impart something novel to the students— Japanese poetry. But creating a course doesn’t happen at the flick of a switch, and this workshop required more than the efforts of just one person. Prof. Eleonora Proyaeva, an assistant professor from the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications, developed what Prof. Wolfe deems a “unique syllabus”. She also taught the first section of the course, which, according to the syllabus, was designed to “make students familiar with the tools and approaches of poetic creative work through reading, enjoying, and analyzing of the poems
of great authors belonging to different epochs and cultures.” As for the technical details of the course, they were organized by the head of the General Education Division, Danyar Karabaev. “Through these combined efforts, ‘Experiencing Poetry’ burst forth to fruition and I hope the students enjoyed it as much as I did”, writes Prof. Wolfe excitedly.
The Simply Profound Prof. Wolfe was more than happy to answer the litany of questions that I sent him by email, providing me with a much greater insight into the workshop he oversaw. Naturally, the first question posed to him was: What is haiku? “Haiku”, he writes, “is a short but profound form of poetry that depends not on dazzling words but rather on the penetrating and focused eye of the poet on the miraculous and mundane world around us.” One might say that while other forms of poetry (think Pushkin, Poe or Whitman) are afforded the luxury of embellishment, haiku demands that its author’s pen scribes terse prose that, while at face value appear
stark, are in reality full of purpose and meaning. To put it simply yet colorfully, haiku “doesn’t assault us with verbal gymnastics”, Prof. Wolfe says, “but conjures up truths and insights in a more direct way”. Consider the following verses of Shakhnoza Isakova, a sophomore in the ICP Department who participated in the workshop: Fragrance of flower trampled - forgiveness Written in her own free time after the workshop ended, this haiku is meant to convey a powerful and universal idea. “I wanted to give the reader a picture of forgiveness”, Shakhnoza said emphatically, using her hands as we talked in an attempt to try and mold the air into palpable ideas. She recalled that on a certain day she had seen someone step on a flower, smashing it under his weight. “And yet”, said Shakhnoza, “the flower still gave something back—the fragrance.” Having been taught to absorb and reflect on the world around her, Shakhnoza was able to transform a seemingly mundane moment into evocative poetry. “A lot of people use powerful words like ‘forgiveness’ or ‘love’”, she said, still shaping the air with her hands, “but they don’t mean anything.” Quite true. And the trick, of course, is how to turn fluffy romanticism into a hefty piece of fine poetry. That poetic acuity which allows students like Shakhnoza to write clipped and evocative prose is what Prof. Wolfe terms “haiku eyes”, since if one is to set pen to parchment then he needs to first learn how to take in the “miraculous and mundane” of the surrounding world. Prof. Wolfe writes that it was often a challenge to limit eager discussion of each student’s haiku owing to the promising fact that each one of them seemed to be naturally equipped with such eyes. Class discussions were of significant importance to the students in that they taught them how to critically analyze each other’s haiku in a constructive manner. Those
presenting gained the valuable experience of having to explain their haiku in front of an inquisitive audience.
The poet in us all When some of us think of a poet we picture a rag-tag romantic or a down-and-out tatterdemalion. (I’ll go one step further and put a bottle of scotch on his desk and a hand-rolled cigarette between his fingers. He’s probably divorced, too.) However, Akylai Tazabekova, a student of Prof. Wolfe’s, was nothing of the sort when I met her in my office. She was dressed in professional attire, and I initially saw her as businesswomen as opposed to a poet.
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But appearances are often deceiving. She arrived rather quickly to the point about haiku eyes. “‘[It] is the term used for capturing ‘wow’ moments”, she expressed somewhat eagerly, and then followed up with an example: “If a butterfly lands on your shoulder, you might not think anything of it. But if you have ‘haiku eyes’ then you will see its beauty.” Nasiba Nurmatova, a smartly dressed and well-spoken student of the workshop, seemed to agree with her classmate, Akylai. She discovered that through haiku students were able to share their thoughts, feelings and world perspectives in a few, well-trimmed lines. Haiku was for Nasiba (who had not heard of it before entering the workshop) a wholly different form of poetry, which did not demand the lengthy or grandiose style such as that of the well-known Russian poets or of the great epics like Manas. Interestingly, when I mentioned the term ‘haiku eyes’ to Nasiba in our interview she tilted her head in a gesture of inquisitiveness and mild confusion—she had either forgotten or simply hadn’t heard the term before, she admitted. Nonetheless, it can be said that as the author of the following verses, Nasiba certainly has a poetic perception of life.
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Hurrying to nowhere I stopped for a moment And stuck forever
Enthusiasm Many of the students had never written poetry until they took the workshop. Akylai certainly hadn’t, she told me, but even today she continues to write her own haiku even though the class has long since ended. One reason for such enthusiasm, she says, is that everyone has the ability to write haiku and that the art itself is universal, since it conveys the same feeling and emotion regardless of the language it’s written in. Much like her classmates, Shifo Mamadatoeva had not been taken with poetry until she participated in the workshop. During the 3-week course Shifo’s general disinterest in poetry transformed into a targeted respect for the art of haiku, which taught her how to express herself and her life in poetic verse, and to convey complex emotions and impressions without lofty vocabulary. Today, Shifo can confidently claim, “I love haiku”. In fact, this haiku-gusto proved to be the main challenge of the class (in an encouraging sense), according to Prof. Wolfe, because it clashed with the limited time span of the course. Usually this all-too common problem of inadequate time occurs as a result of other, less impressive factors, such as a student’s inability to understand a given subject, or worse, his wanton and objectionable disregard for learning any and all material. In the haiku workshop, however, time became an issue because the students were so excited that they wanted to do more than was required. In the words of Prof. Wolfe: “They were so creative and enthusiastic in writing their original poems, there just was never enough time to do it all. We even added an extra three-hour Saturday afternoon class. How often do students plead for an extra class? In my experience, AUCA students are truly special.” Prof. Steve Wolfe’s interest in haiku began in much the same way as that of his students at AUCA, when
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he attended a world literature course during graduate school and was exposed to Japanese poetry. At one point Wolfe came across some verses of Basho, a famous haiku writer, which read “Old pond/a frog jumps/ the sound of water”. The haiku was “so obtuse”, writes Wolfe, “I had to go to Japan, study Japanese and read haiku and Zen writings in the original Japanese to avoid the proverbial lost in translation syndrome. I planned to study in Kyoto for three to five years but it has snowballed into 100.” Since that time, Prof. Wolfe has become an authority on haiku, with nearly 40 years of experience writing, studying, teaching and translating haiku. (That’s not quite 100 years, but he’s getting there.) He also edits haiku journals. In light of this, students should be honored by his admiration of them, for Prof. Wolfe says in no uncertain terms that the workshop “was one of those mythical classes that taught itself”. He continues: “I have facilitated haiku workshops in many countries but these at AUCA were the most successful and dynamic”. He attributes much of this to their English language skills and “gushing creativity”.
What haiku can teach us Prof. Wolfe made sure to stress the practical and meaningful aspect of haiku to his students. “I wanted them to know that haiku involves a practice, verging on meditation, of looking at the world with full attention and concentration and not allowing ourselves to fall into ruts or dull routines.” The underpinning of any decent liberal arts education—and AUCA is a liberal arts college—is the ability to absorb and examine the world around us, to find meaningful links between the seemingly meaningless, and to caution one’s mind against the “ruts or dull routines” that so often mute our ability to think outside the box. Haiku, then, plays an important role in the process of a student’s education here at AUCA. Haiku furthermore demands that a writer subject his verses to a bout of rigorous editing, since in haiku
we learn that “less is more”, says Prof. Wolfe. Additionally, the author needs to exercise self-control over his writing by shedding the superfluous and choosing words which are both meaningful and necessary at the same time. If a student applies these two academic-oriented skills—to write simply and meaningfully and to have a keen eye for editing—into everything he writes during his time at AUCA (and in any university, for that matter) his output will be noticeably more academic, that is, his writing will take the shape of sharper, more purpose-oriented prose that retain a touch of creativity. Students of Prof. Wolfe’s haiku class have three or four more years of writing ahead of them. Where practice is concerned, I say, more is better
What should be done? I queried Prof. Wolfe as to whether or not American University of Central Asia’s students would benefit from more creative writing courses. He responded that they would, saying “I believe stressing creativity ripples out to all aspects of our lives and leads to greater fulfillment and contentment.” He continues that “from a purely pragmatic point of view creativity is an important component in enabling one to contribute to the success of a company or business.” Each of the students I sat down with—Shifo Mamadatoeva, Nasiba Nurmatova, Shakhnoza Isakova and Akylai Tazabekova—agree with this sentiment, not simply believing but knowing that haiku bequeathed unto them a greater ability to think critically and creatively, to choose the word that fits the purpose, and to make a greater effort to follow the mantra that so many students ignore at their peril; namely, “less is more”. Prof. Wolfe is looking forward to the prospect of being invited back to teach haiku next March. The students I spoke with all expressed their wish to take the course for a second time under his guidance. To the students, haiku was a novelty. It was a blast to learn. And it was useful. So why not do it again?
A TALE ABOUT HUMANITY AND FREEDOM Yelena Vorobey, AUCA (Kyrgyz Republic)
Engagement holds an essay contest among all students in the Bard network. This year’s question was “What does it mean to be human?”. The following essays are answers from Bard students around the world. (All essays presented as submitted by students) Once upon a time in a faraway land, a king ruled over a vast and prosperous state. But when the king became old, he called his only child, the Prince, and said: “For many years, my son, I have been the head of this state, now it is time for you to take over. I leave the flourishing cities, fruitful lands and hereditary property to your own consideration. Though, there is only one thing I ask from you: I leave all the citizens to your responsibility take proper care of them!” “What a happy day,” cried out the Prince with a great excitement, “I have thought of plenty of innovations to make all the people happier!” “It might not be as easy as you think, my child. Come to me when you need help,” said the Sage sadly. And as
soon as the Prince came to his palace, he proclaimed that all his people throughout the state are set free and from this day on they are not obliged to serve anyone. Being full of good intentions, he wanted to bring a major change to people’s lives and give them freedom from poverty, oppression, and injustice. At first people were confused and did not understand what happened. “What rights do we have?” asked the people. “You have just one right – the right to be free in all your actions and thoughts. No need to ask me any questions from now on, you are the masters of your lives!” the Prince replied. With these words, The Prince, who did not have to control the state any longer departed to his belongings outside the capital. People started cheering for the Prince and praise the reforms that he had made for the sake of all people’s happiness. Feasts and soirees did not stop in the country for days; people celebrated their newly obtained rights and freedom, and everyone seemed to be happy
and satisfied. For a month the Prince lived in seclusion, but one day he decided to visit his former servants. He traveled to the city, but on the way, his chariot was stopped by an aggressive-looking man. “I see that your chariot looks rich”, said the burglar, “give me your money or you will pay with your life!” he said. “Hey there, good man! Are you not afraid that my friends will catch and punish you?” “I am very afraid, indeed, but there is nothing else I can do to survive! When the Prince gave freedom to everyone, a major disaster happened. I can’t even trust anyone to accompany me on my god-forbidden duty without being afraid that the person betrays me, because all people are free to do what they want now,” replied the burglar.
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Every year the Bard Center for Civic
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Such words surprised the Prince and he replied, “I am your Prince. Now, tell me what happened to the kingdom while I was away! What made you wander around the big road and take away wayfarers’ belongings? Have I not left a prosperous state to
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you? Have I not given you freedom and left you happy?” “What you are saying is true, my lord, but it’s not the whole story yet!” replied the man. “You have given us freedom, but have you ever wondered if we wanted it? All we wanted to have was to be fed well, dress nicely and have some clarity or purpose in life. But when you gave us absolute freedom, we lost it all. At first, people did not know what to do or where to apply their skills. Then, someone realized that if people are absolutely free to do whatever they want, the stronger are free to take away the weaker’s belongings. People started clustering in groups to protect themselves from the stronger, but a feeling of mistrust settled among people – why should I help you, if I can gain more by deceiving you? Anarchy reigned through the state. One man did not care about his brother; children ran away from homes; enemies from neighboring states gathered troops close to our borders. We have learned our lesson, my lord - absolute freedom corrupts as well as absolute power. Tolerance, respect and responsibility were forgotten. We are no humans anymore, but hungry prey-seeking beasts! Come back, my Prince, bring the peace and happiness back to our souls!” As the Prince listened, his heart was overwhelmed with the feeling of sorrow and regret. He came back to the city and proclaimed that he himself would take care of the citizens. After regaining power, the Prince stopped all crimes and disorder at once, reestablished the social order and satisfied people’s basic needs. Everyone was assigned a duty and fulfilling this duty became the purpose of each man’s life. As citizens did not have to worry about providing themselves with necessities – the Prince provided clothing and food in abundance - they became peaceful and benign. Less and less arguments arose among people, because the Prince took all the important decisions. One day the Prince was having a walk in his peach garden and on the
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way back he met a man silently sitting under the tree by the brook. The man was dressed well and a healthy blush played on his cheeks, but his look was wistful. “My loyal friend”, said the Prince “tell me what troubles your mind. Have I not provided you with a decent living? Have I not brought the stability and protected the state from the external enemy? Have I not taken away the suffering from not knowing your purpose in life? Have I not protected you from the careless egoistic nature of yours?” “What you are saying is true, my lord, but it’s not the whole story yet!” replied the man. “You have given us all that, you have ruled the state wisely, but at the same time you have taken our happiness away. Indeed, now we have a purpose in life, but the one you assigned to us. Thoughtlessly we follow your path. Have you noticed that even though there are no hungry people anymore, there is not much creativity or discoveries either? A man must be able to choose his own path, to do his own mistakes and learn his own lesson, only this way a man will unfold his human potential, then, art and science will prosper. People need to have a freedom to change - a freedom to improve. We are no humans anymore - we are obedient and speechless cattle.” Confused, the Prince came to his Father and asked: “I do not understand, Father! How can I make my people happy? If I give them freedom, they become careless and violent, if I take it away – they become passive and vacuous.” “Freedom without limits is a void”, replied the wise Sage “to exist it needs something to be compared with. People can’t be given limitless freedom - they first need to be guided with nurturing of their moral constraints. To be human means to have an ability to accept freedom, stay uncorrupt and put it to creative power. Make them human - educate and guide your people, my son, but until a certain point; then give them freedom and you will see that your state become happy and more prosperous than ever!”
“But, Father, how will I guide my people?” “You already know the answer, my son. Recall what happened to your state? Each person needs to work on himself/herself and learn to respect other people, first through the enforcement of law, but later, through their own moral standards. In this process there will be a natural moment of accepting freedom, when a person will learn to constraint oneself from within and after which freedom will become fruitful rather than destructive.” *** Just like in this story, when we ourselves prosper and have our primary needs fulfilled, we start thinking about other people and try to help them. Just like the Prince, we want to make everyone happy and free, but we need to understand that some people might not ready to accept freedom yet. We often think that we know what is best for people, but in fact we might be mistaken. Many questions still remain unanswered: Who should guide people? How should they be guided? What role should the government play in it? Clearly neither giving absolute freedom nor taking it away – neither anarchy nor tyranny (even based on good intentions) is a good way for further development. Being a human means being free, but to be free you first need to be a human with strong moral values based on considering other people as important as oneself, which is impossible without constraining oneself. Freedom should not be simply given. People have to become true people to be able to accept it and make a use of it. Just like in the story, freedom for which one does not need to fight for will be thoughtlessly wasted, but the one nourished in the process constant self-development will be the one put to productive use. There are questions we still need to answer, but one thing is certain – freedom must have constraints within a person, otherwise it will bring destruction.
FREEDOM AND INTERCONNECTIVITY Abraham Rosenthal, Bard (United States)
I always remember walking out of the airport at my destination. The air is invariably different, in some hardtodefine way. Perhaps it’s the temperature, the pressure, or the proximity to the sea. It could just be in my head. We all share the same sky, and yet everywhere I go I’m convinced I’ve never seen that sky before. All of the faces have changed. There is a new aesthetic hegemony. Often the languages are different. Now I am difference, and I feel like I have greater possession of my self, greater responsibility,and greater potential. My actions are representative of something more than myself. Those first breaths
in a new place; I’ve always felt that is freedom. Closer inspection makes me doubt that feeling. The passport in my carryon betrays my participation and integration into a political system, to which I have obligations and am accountable, and which has followed me off the plane and through the security checks. It will be with me wherever I go, always aware in a nebulous way of my location and activity. This is a world that functions through surveillance and, in a way, I am always being watched. The ticket that I shoved in my pocket after I got on the plane is evidence of my privilege. It situates me inside of an economic system in which I did not place myself but with which I am necessarily, inextricably linked. On a global scale, I am close to the top of that pyramid. I am not that close to the top; my clothes are still massmanufactured. I am aware that this probably links me quite closely to someone, somewhere, who forms the base of that pyramid. As much as I am privileged by the economic state of the world, that person suffers. The phone in my back pocket reminds me of my numerous scholastic and interpersonal
connections, each with their own obligations. Thousands of miles away, I am still attached and indebted to a social body. I am obliged to my political, economic, and social origins. In many ways everything that I am has been determined by them. Can this be freedom? This, of course, depends on how one chooses to understand freedom. Is freedom simply the opposite of constraint? If so, is it possible to be free? One can never be free of constraints. Constraints are omnipresent, one cannot exist without them. All systems are a form of constraint and control. The opposition of order to chaos is itself constraint. Language is constraint. It limits what we can think, what we can say. Meaning is, therefore, determined by constraint. Is freedom then meaningless? Is total freedom then madness? Death?
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I’ve never felt more free than when I’ve had the opportunity to travel. Some people hate airports. I truly love them. There are few other places as pregnant with human potential as airports. They house the intersection of difference. Thousands of faces tell as many stories. Every pair of eyes displays worry, apprehension, excitement, or sleep deprivation. Languages, accents, clothing, and luggage hint at an infinite number of individual back stories. Airports are the hub for global humanity, and every time I step foot in one I’m proud to be a part of it.
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This definition of freedom must be rejected in favor of something more practical. If freedom can ever exist, it must be an engaged freedom. It is necessarily limited by this engagement, but in order to be freedom must be aware of its limitations. In order to be free,
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one must recognize where one is constrained. One must attempt to understand the nature of constraint in the world that we have inherited. This is truly a unique moment in history. The magnificence and great dilemma of our age is the contradiction between our ability to engage with our world in all of its vastness and the often crushing sense of impotence which is attached to that ability. We have unprecedented access to information. We can see more clearly into our past and present than any of our ancestors. And yet, instead of great vistas, we see walls. Not unlimited possibilities, but an infinitude of shackles: the connections which bind us to our history and our world. It is easy to become paralyzed by the weight of the past. We see how the utopian dreams of our ancestors too often evolved into murder and totalitarianism. We dare not repeat their mistakes. The genesis of our past chastises us for our day dreaming. The structure of the present baffles us with its complexities. It is not simply a question of time, of history, but also one of space, of the scale and dimensions of our world. The world seems to have outgrown us. It is too large to fit into any totalizing ideology. The labyrinths of knowledge that we have inherited and continue to expand are impervious to the attempts of the individual. The polymaths have all died. They have been replaced by specialists. An ever larger, more connected world presents the danger of ever increasing isolation. One can become lost in one’s own small piece of this world, and lose sight of the whole. We risk becoming mice trapped in the maze that we have created. And this world seems at times as if it no longer needs us. Power has become increasingly diffuse to the point at which one is ever sure exactly where it is located. We function inside of an enormous societal machine; cogs driving the wheels of history. We need the machine, need each other. We are tied by the seemingly insoluble bonds of economy to people we will never meet, who live vastly different lives thousands of miles away from us.
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AUCA Magazine | June 2013
The world is increasingly connected, and as those connections intersect and strengthen our interdependency, the question of who runs the global machine becomes always more difficult. Perhaps it is unanswerable. Perhaps it is irrelevant. In coffee shops and over dinner tables we still hear familiar contempt for the government. “This is the president’s fault,” “This is why I voted for the other guy,” “The governor is an idiot,” “that senator is incompetent.” The ghosts of sovereignty still haunt politics. We continue to act as if the leviathan of the state hadn’t lost its head in the revolutionary guillotines of the 18th and 19th centuries. The president of the United States is often called the most powerful man in the world. As time goes on, and we slip ever further into this uncertain century, the illusion of the agency of these powerful men in rerouting the torrents of history is beginning to fade. Not just our president, but all world leaders seem tragic figures, desperately grasping for the societal reins that were always already out of their hands. The diffusion of power throughout the social body has not meant its equal distribution. There still exist vast disparities in the resources and privileges of individuals and groups. What one man spends on a watch an entire family could survive on for a year. Populations, robbed of any power, are slaughtered by those that have monopolized that power. Prejudice, based on outdated categorizations and often willful ignorance, creeps through every facet of the social body to impose senseless violence and to squander great pools of human potential. What can freedom mean in this world? Is it possible to be free? As an individual, one can easily feel overwhelmed by history’s unceasing movement, its irresistible momentum. One must not forget, however, that it is individuals that drive history. Never solitary individuals, but together, through their connections and relationships with one another. It is human interdependence which has established civilization, and which continues to be its guiding
force. We have already seen the massive potential for social change with the increase in communication. Political oppression is no longer capable of completely silencing social discontent. The ability to easily form connections with individuals across geographic and linguistic boundaries promises to revolutionize the nature of collaboration. It is our interconnectivity that offers the greatest freedom. One is no longer limited by one’s geographic location to the domination of a single discourse. Ideas spread instantly. The potential that this technological advance presents is the possibility of bodies of knowledge in diaspora, of ever increasing discursive connectivity. The constantly expanding world of ideas may be daunting, but buried throughout the rich earth of global discourse are seeds which have the potential to profoundly alter individual and collective thinking. This is not a world for the great individual. Napoleon could no longer exist. The 21st century calls for actions of collective responsibility. Being human in this century means being a part of humanity, not seeking to stand as an exceptional example above its masses. Our history often presents itself as being determined by the actions of individual men. While this was never truly the case, our world is certainly one in which structural changes will occur at the foundations, not at the precipice. Freedom can never exist as an absolute. That is not an achievable or desirable goal. Constraint is a necessary part of human existence. Freedom exists only as a pursuit; as the gradual loosening of constraints so that all of humanity can fit comfortably inside of our communally constructed world. Individual freedom is an impossible dream. An attempt at complete societal withdrawal is not only doomed to failure, but irresponsible. The goal must be the modification of those constraints which weigh the heaviest on those people who are the least free, and the pursuit of that goal requires the collective action of humanity.
FREEDOM AND THE LAW Gleb Vinokurov, Smolny (Russia)
The wind does not blow without a reason, it follows the law of nature, being born when cold and hot air masses are mixed together. Our motions are limited with the fastenings, which assemble human’s body, and body is attracted to earth by the all-mighty attractive force, never letting a man feel like a bird. The diffidence, a prejudice, eaten into
people’s minds, makes them hide their bodies, wrapping them in layers of clothes, and makes them ashamed of their nature, as if it would be a sin. We don’t even breathe according to our own will, but just because we must; and we can’t breathe in more air—even if the purest and the most life-giving—than our lungs can take, only our share, given to us by the impartial law of life. And all this huge world had already been divided into parts long time ago and nobody can consider oneself as a master, constantly stumbling over somebody else’s borders and bans. Everything in this world observes the laws, whether it wishes to or not. The characters of Eugene O’Neill’s trilogy «Mourning becomes Electra» considered a paradise on the Earth a beautiful island in the ocean, where people can be found, free of all restrictions of the civilized world. They are handsome; their bodies, warmed
with the sun, do not need any clothes. They don’t need to work, as the Nature herself gives them everything that is needed in this blessed land. They are absolutely happy and sinless, because the very idea of sin is unknown to them. There are no restrictions for the freedom of human nature. But this utopia will always be just a dream. Thus we can conclude that the main obstacle for human’s freedom is ubiquitous laws. Without them, the humankind would be happy. Is the law really the biggest curse of the man?
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The wind in your hair. Your motions, light and wide, never knew the weight of the world. Your body, free from the tight bondage of clothes; your breast, raising and falling, like the waves of a stormy sea, breathing out the fragrance of unlimited freedom. The road, not straightened with borders and barriers, and nobody is on this road, nobody but you. This is freedom, lost and sought-for, living in the depths of our memory and longing to return to this world of people. Or is it an illusion, made up by humankind?
Published by American University of Central Asia | Bishkek | Kyrgyz Republic
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In 17th century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes described such a state of society, when it doesn’t know any laws or state power. This is what he called “the state of nature.” For the reason that laws are absent, people in the state of nature know nothing about either justice or injustice – such terms just don’t exist. They
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
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don’t know about sins, either, because there are no laws which a sinner could possibly outrage. All people are equal in this state, and the only law that they know is, how it is called by Hobbes, natural law, obliging a person to protect his or her life at any cost. From this universal equality and the lack of control of the relations among people comes the state of “the war of all against all”, inseparable from the state of nature: when everybody is equal, everybody believes oneself to deserve more than others, and everyone can be concerned about a possibility that his property may be taken. Thus the government, having a right to create laws and to control people’s lives and their relations, according to Hobbes is the common good, as it helps to escape a civil war and reach the peace. Some possible oppression from the government is excusable, as they are only provided for people’s own good, according to the contract between them and the government. Another outstanding English philosopher, John Locke, wrote about initial equality of all people, too, even though his understanding of the state of nature is extremely different from that of Hobbes. It is a state of complete freedom, but not self-will. Because human in state of nature has exactly as much as needed, no more, no less. That’s why nobody in this state would ever treat anyone the way he wouldn’t like to be treated himself. Such a difference between two points of view is very interesting, but the conclusion which is important to our main topic is the following: even in the state of nature, when there is no commonwealth, still there are laws, affecting the life of the people. Thus even the island from O’Neill’s play, mentioned above (even though, of course, it’s more metaphorical than realistic), cannot really be free of any laws – they would have existed there anyway. So the question is open: does it mean that human naturally can’t be free, as his or her freedom is initially limited? And if these laws are broken, can we call such a self-will real freedom?
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AUCA Magazine | June 2013
It is a well-known fact, that the human (and his ancestors) from time immemorial had been living in groups, and not singly. Ages have passed, but any modern person living in a family or working in a team knows perfectly that without initial respect to each other’s rights such groups would never be able to exist and develop. This is what might be called a society of initial, natural laws. That’s why it is also peculiar to the society based on such groups. At some point it really restricts a human’s freedom, but only for the sake of protection of the others’ rights, which are limited as well for the common good. But maybe this limited freedom is fake, while real one must be unlimited and unrestrained from the frameworks of the law? Such a statement can hardly be taken seriously, as even single iota of selfwill (in the worst meaning of the word) leads to the breach of the rights (and freedom) of others. We can say such cases are always single to some level, because the biggest part of the society always defends its common rights. However, it should be mentioned that law and self-will are not always incomparable. It’s absolutely clear that they can be two sides of a coin when we talk about the government. Of course, in modern democratic countries it’s not as easy as in autocratic ones. Yet it’s still possible: if using ingrained prejudices of the population government manages to issue a law, infringing upon some people’s rights. For example, Russian scandalous law, banning “propaganda of homosexuality,” passed in 2012. Despite the protests of considerable part of the citizens, believing it to be shameful and unconstitutional, breaching the human rights and absolutely useless, the law was approved. It’s considered to be useless, because neither the definition of what this “propaganda of homosexuality” means nor the explanation how it may affect the minors can’t be given. For all this time only one person has been punished for breaching this law, while growth of
aggression towards LGBT community, caused by the law, is obvious. Another law which led to public indignation is so-called “Dima Yakovlev law” that bans the adoption of Russian orphans by American families. It is named after Russian boy, who was adopted in 2008 as Chase Harrison and died the same year. His death was proclaimed to be a symbol of cruelty of American adoptive parents towards Russian children, even though in reality it was an accident. The opponents of the law consider it to be just a political answer to “Magnitsky Act”, but in the end the main victims are Russian orphans, who have lost their hopes to find new parents in the USA. But still, such cases of the law-making, when some citizens may have their rights restrained are quiet specific. The law doesn’t imply deprivation of somebody’s freedom without considerable reasons (like in the case of a crime, for example). The laws have always existed. They make the wind blow and the planet turn. They define our lives, control it and don’t let it become a chaos. They are so natural that we don’t even notice them. The laws of the society are just as natural as the laws of nature. They create what we call freedom, though in different times people understand it differently. We can say that freedom without laws has never existed – either they had already been there or would have appeared soon; otherwise everything would have been perished. Unjust and cruel laws, born by the governments, sooner or later become abolished by just and natural ones. As JeanJacques Rousseau wrote: “Isn’t it clear that we don’t have any duties towards one, from whom we can demand everything?” The citizens, who can give the right to issue laws, still have their right to fight against the unjust ones, according to the oldest and the main law of all – natural law. After all, how do you know that you are free unless somebody tries to restrain your freedom?
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN? Mohamad Zeidan, Al Quds (Palestine)
I want to start this by saying I am not a good writer but I will, as people say, “Give it a shot.” I don’t want to discuss the reasons why God created human beings. What I want to discuss is what it means to be a human. Does it mean that you have duties and you have responsibilities and a lot of things to do? Perhaps, but this is not what I think. I think what it means to be human is to love and to be loved and to learn and teach. To be a human is to stop for a little bit and dream and live with other’s dreams .To be a human is to know that even though you are one of billions or more, maybe when you are helpful you can have an effect on people and you can change the world .To be a human you need to be free and let other people be free .We should ask ourselves if freedom is inside our selves or if it can be created. I don’t think that freedom can be made by a piece of paper and freedom can’t be given. It’s like a fountain that blows out from the ground out of nowhere, without any reason just to say, “I am here; I am here. If you want to see me I am here and if you don’t I am still here.” So the fountain isn’t affected by another person’s idea and doesn’t accept any objection from the land whether it’s fertile or it’s dead. To be a human is to give without waiting to receive. We are like the sun. The sun gives us the light, gives us warmth and life, without waiting for anyone to give her anything, because that is her secret of life. You cannot be a human without having freedom. Such as the freedom to say no or the freedom to say yes, even if what you say is the opposite of what everyone else says. It’s not about being selfish; it is human to listen to the world .Is one person thinks differently than you, you discuss with him the way he thinks and you build your ideas
by sharing data and ideas. So to be a human means to be free to do whatever you want to do in any time in any case. To be a human is to celebrate with others. To sacrifice your soul for another’s even if you don’t know him. For example, I knew a friend who sacrificed his pure soul to help a little kid in a gas station exploding in Palestine. So the only thing I can say is rest in peace my friend this is the real action of what we call humanity. Sacrificing your pure soul, I don’t think that anyone can make it unless he is a human who has a big heart. To cry with the others when you understand what they have experienced. For example, when we see our relatives, neighbors, or anyone who is sad even for something that seems little to you, you should, as a human, feel what he’s really feeling and try to do your best to help him. To advise them to save their lives, for example, when you advise anyone to do their best I don’t think it will make you a person with a pure heart. This is to be a human: to have a big heart, to know that life goes two ways; one is good and the other is bad, one makes you happy and then makes you sad; and to know that one human died in order to keep others alive. To be a human is starving to feed another human being, to let them live. We have a dignity that is in our soul, planted not created. To be a human you should listen first to others without interrupting them and then talk. For example, my friends and I to know that smiling can bring people together and it’s a good way to communicate. It’s because you’re a human and they are too. I can say the negative and the positive thing about interrupting people while they are talking, a negative example is if you are a teacher and you are
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КИЙИМ ЖАНА БУТ КИЙИМДЕР ОДЕЖДА И ОБУВЬ
discussing a big subject then suddenly one of the students made you stop by asking or talking with another student. This behavior would make you mad because you may have lost the idea that you were explaining, so the class will stop. A positive example is when someone is saying wrong things and you interrupt him just to correct him. I think this is a positive thing about interrupting. For example I saw my friend and he was sad so all I did to help him was smile and it worked. To know that there is no difference between each other even if I am black, white, Asian, or any race; tall, short, ugly, or beautiful. The difference is just how happy we are at a particular time. To not cry over your small losses, they will make you stronger than ever. To be a human is to know that you should not waste your time because we’re going to die. So time passes quickly .To know that money and power will not make you happier or make you something more than human, it will not reflect on you at all. Be a human by living your life as you want not as others want, with freedom, with happiness, with communicating with others even if he or she is Muslim, Jewish, Christian, or any other religion. To be a human you should have the right to live, speak, move from place to another without having fear, without being prevented. Furthermore, the human should get equal treatment, the medicine he wants to relieve his suffering and to life with his suffering in order to relieve it.
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What is a human being? Is it a soul? Is it a plastic thing? It’s a heart that is beating always to say, “I am here and you can’t deny it at all, only God can.” It’s the freedom that God put in our soul. We know that there is a difference between the human and the table or the animal. Even the animal has a lot of rights, but he doesn’t have thing called thinking or acting on thoughts .So a human has his mind to think before acting and that is the most important thing that make him different from the other creatures. So having a mind to
think defends your right to live anywhere you want, to get anything you want to make your life happier. I want to talk more about why a human has a soul different from the other creatures. It’s a soul that feeds him, makes him live and controls him because a lot of habits exist in our soul from the day we were born. For example, when we are born we naturally look for our mother to feed us with milk at first, and we use crying as a way to say “I am here; I am here; I need food; this is my right to eat and you must take care of me.” So at the beginning we start to cry. Then, by the time we learn how to speak we defend our needs and our rights by speaking. Maybe not everyone understands what it means to be a human and have rights. Even if his rights are planted in his soul the day he was born, the human needs to act on his needs. So if he doesn’t act I think it will be erased from his soul and his mind and then he will see that controlling him and arresting his ideas or himself is a thing that he deserves that as a human he can’t say no. So what I want is to make sure all humans know their rights. Human life goes as fast as you can’t imagine, so it’s one chance in life to have your rights and defend them and live happily or to do the opposite and not have your rights as I said before. To be a human there is one other difference from the animals, and plastic things, which is the right to speak and say whatever you want without insulting anyone. For example, when you need anything from anyone you go to him and say I need this and this. If the place you live in refuses your idea you will as a human defend it and say, “I have the right to say if this thing is right or this thing is wrong.” These are my words from a pure soul, it’s apparent to any one wants to discuss this topic, so why not have your rights and defend them? There is one shot in life, take it or leave it, so are you a human or not? I think this is a question everyone should ask himself. Am I a human or am just a creature existing without any purpose?
ON BEING HUMAN AND THE HUMANE Tohir Pallaev, AUCA (Kyrgyz Republic)
I believe that now we possess enough knowledge to reject any artificial borders that we created between us. I believe that being human, above all means to accept one global human identity and break every wall that separates us from the rest of humanity. It means to hear the screams of every person who was not lucky enough to be born in a better place and do everything possible to make sure that the place of birth doesn’t determine whether you enjoy freedom and abundance or become a subject of poverty and oppression. Freedom must not be a luxury that only few can enjoy but something
inherent in every newborn child. Every person that comes to existence in this world has a potential to make the world that we live in better and we should help them to become free from any constraint that may stop them from realizing that potential. Constraints in one form or another have always existed throughout our history and many great men and women were strengthened under the influence of oppression and poverty. But rather more often, constraints lead to violence and terror. Those who could use the injustice of their lives in their advantage often dedicate themselves to fight with these imperfections of our world. Probably because one of the lessons they learn is that it takes great courage not to break and forgive when confronted with cruelty of human nature but it takes much less to hate it. We can be free one day when we start dedicating more resources and efforts to fight the causes of violence in the face of injustice and poverty rather than for the development of our armies, military and new more efficient ways to scare and kill each other. Only education and knowledge can heal our contradictive nature. One of the brightest features of today`s world is that more and more people become aware of being a part of global citizenry. They are obliged not only to be more tolerant to each other, but help to fight the imperfections of the societies and governments that we create. We share our main and most important resource – knowledge - with those less fortunate and this in itself triggers our innate desire to become free. Human history is full of wars in the name of freedom. This vague and abstract concept is so overused by politicians and has served an inspiration for so many nations across the world to sacrifice themselves in the name of it. People consider sacrifice to be one of the greatest virtues, sometimes not even fully realizing its meaning. One has been always clear that this idea is
worth fighting for. This idea represents the will of humanity to break the bounds of structures by which it entangled itself. Nothing is more humane than freedom and nothing is more human than constraint. Today’s world is moving towards unity and interdependence. It is the bitter lesson that we have learnt after paying the price of millions of lives. We finally realized the importance of knowledge and education for every human being. We have created technologies that made us closer than ever before and developed science that helps us to understand ourselves and the world around us. These achievements push us to reject the prejudices that were the reasons behind so many wars and so much injustice. But not all of us can enjoy these triumphs of the human mind. Billions of people around the world struggle with poverty, hunger and injustice. Growing ties between us help some to escape these vices of our societies but millions of people don`t live long enough to win their fight for freedom. I believe and hope that one day we will truly understand the value of each human life on this planet and make everything possible to protect its dignity. We stand at the beginning of our path to accept one global human identity but still much needs to be done. Nearly one billion people that don’t have access to drinkable water wait for their brothers and sisters around the world to help. Only few hear their voices and only few stay alive to be saved. We are slowly moving towards a more responsible community of people who are not limited by the imagined concepts of “nation” or “race”. We have overcome the mistakes of our ancestors and only starting to realize the great power and responsibilities that it comes with. Maybe one day humanity will deserve its right to be called humane and maybe one day we will be proud to be called humans..
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
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I am human. I am one of more than 7 billion individuals that inhabit this planet. All of us belong to the same humankind that “conquered the Earth” but each individual contains a separate world within. We rightfully call human the most complex of beings because no other creature is gifted with the unique abilities of mind that had let us change the world around us. Our power to think made us so different from all other living beings that we often feel superior to them. Nothing is more contradictory than human nature. We consider ourselves nature’s greatest pride but at the same time we deserve the reputation of its greatest shame. The Earth needs many years to recover from the consequences of our greed and “forgive” us. We were born to create yet we keep destroying and depleting. We can experience love and acquire knowledge but just some sixty years ago, we let such an unbelievable thing like holocaust happen. No animal is capable of killing its own kind with the brutality that we did and yet we are the only creatures blessed with the feeling of love. How is a human mind that is gifted to create things that are endlessly beautiful is also able to think of something so inhumane? How could we fail to see the same spark of mind behind the color of skin or the sound of words that we use to share our ideas?
Published by American University of Central Asia | Bishkek | Kyrgyz Republic
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ПРОДЮСЕР ПРОГРАММЫ «АЛА-ТОО» НА ОТРК
ВЫБИРАЯ ЖУРНАЛИСТИКУ, ВЫ ДОЛЖНЫ СКАЗАТЬ «ПРОЩАЙТЕ» ПРАЗДНИКАМ И ВЫХОДНЫМ. Беседовала Динара Орозбаева
Еще совсем недавно молодые люди желали стать известными актерами-актрисами, звездами шоу-бизнеса, то теперь современные выпускники все больше хотят стать известными журналистами, ведущими телепрограмм. Их привлекает статус свободного художника. Некоторые люди думают, что журналистика - это творчество, другие - ремесло, но известно, что однажды вкусив в полной мере все прелести этой непростой профессии, уже никогда не смогут уйти из нее. Постоянная смена событий, общение с интересными людьми и активная жизнь весьма притягательна. Сегодня на тему второй древней профессии мы решили поговорить известным журналистом, продюсером студии «Ала-Тоо» ОТРК и ведущим программы «Итоги недели» Нарын Айыпом . Прежде чем начать нашу беседу, мы решили предоставить вам краткую информацию о нашем собеседнике: - Нарын Айып закончил физический факультет КНУ, дипломную
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AUCA Magazine | June 2013
работу писал в Новосибирском университете в Академгородке, стажировался в МГУ имени Ломоносова, после аспирантуры в АН СССР работал научным сотрудником в Институте высоких температур, а также параллельно – тренером в спортивной школе в Москве. В 1990 году начал издавать в Москве первую газету на кыргызском языке, затем был заместителем главного редактора газеты Res Publica в Бишкеке, после этого работал на радио «Свобода» в Мюнхене, а затем в Праге – занимал должность главного редактора радио «Азаттык». Затем он работал главным редактором русскоязычной газеты в Праге, после этой работы он возглавил информационное агентство «Кабар» в Кыргызстане, в настоящее время является продюсером студии «АлаТоо» Общественного первого канала. В людях ценит разумную искренность. - Нарын Идинович, вы сами физик по профессии, как же так получилось, что вы пришли в журналистику?
- После развала Союза, в тех далеких 90-х, я жил и работал в Москве. Однажды, я приехал в отпуск погостить к родственникам в Бишкек. Спустился в подземный переход, чтобы купить газету, к своему удивлению не нашел ни одного издания. Я чувствовал, что многие мои соотечественники в то время ощущали некий информационный голод, существовал такой незримый вакуум, который нужно было заполнить. Это сейчас этот вакуум заполнен. И не всегда качественной прессой. Но тогда, после отпуска, вернувшись в Москву я первым делом решил издавать газету, так как такая необходимость назрела. И я стал издавать первую газету на кыргызском языке в Москве. Причем, и издателем, и редактором, и корреспондентом газеты был сам, как говорится все в одном лице. Все приходилось делать самому. Позже газета начала пользоваться популярностью у читателей по странам СНГ. В ней были статьи на разные политические и экономические темы и из
- Что вы посоветуете нашим будущим журналистам? - Только те студенты будут истинными журналистами, которые уже сейчас чувствуют, что это - их миссия, кто готов принять журналистику с плюсами и минусами, работать с большим удовольствием и понять, что журналистика - образ жизни, а не только профессия. Заработать большие деньги в журналистике возможно только тогда, когда вы зарекомендуете себя. Это зависит от ваших способностей, от удачи и, конечно, от ваших знаний. Главная забота корреспондента - продать информацию, и для этого необходимо искать “бомбу” во всем. Каждый, кто идет в эту сферу, должен помнить, что журналистская работа – это 25-часовой рабочий день, Вы никогда не знаете, что произойдет сегодня, когда Вы закончите свою следующую статью или сюжет. В журналистике, как и в других профессиях, много увлеченных работой людей, которые занимаются любимой работой, но есть люди, работающие исключительно за деньги. - Возможно, ли пройти практику у Вас? - Да, разумеется, наши двери всегда открыты для начинающих журналистов. Только штат у нас расписан, и взять кого-то на работу пока мы не можем себе позволить. Что касается практики, то достаточно принести официальное письмонаправление от учебного заведения. И если я не ошибаюсь, то по правилам последних лет ВУЗЫ обязаны оплачивать той или иной организации определенную сумму за своего студента. Согласно всем этим правилам мы готовы принять на прохождение практики студентовжурналистов. - Спасибо вам за интересную беседу Нарын Идинович, желаем вам удачи и новых творческих вершин!.
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
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большой аналитической новостной студии ОТРК, руководите двумя редакциями, кыргызской и русской. Можно ли их сравнить? И ваше мнение о кыргызкоязычных СМИ? - Между кыргызскоязычными и русскоязычными СМИ не может быть конкуренции, потому что они работают на разных полях, однако, в ситуациях, когда им приходится освещать одно и то же событие, между ними может возникнуть непродолжительная, но жесткая борьба. Новости это командная работа и здесь все зависит от слаженной работы журналистов, и чтобы работа была плодотворной, требуется обязательное присутствие командного духа. К примеру, в нашей редакции Ала-Тоо, на одно мероприятие, мы как правило отправляем группу состоящую из двух журналистов и одного оператора. Но и у нас есть минусы в нашей работе, это нехватка кадров. Каждый день происходит большое количество событий, но мы просто физически не успеваем все охватить. Можно сказать, что у нас в редакции катастрофически не хватает людей. Но и большой штат ОТРК не может себе позволить, как позволяет бюджет других западных телеканалов. - Что же касается кыргызкоязычных СМИ - то главное отличие кыргызскоязычных СМИ от русскоязычных, на мой взгляд, состоит в том, что тексты первых более художественные. Они описывают не сам факт, а сопутствующие события. Русскоязычные же журналисты предпочитают давать более конкретную информацию. - Чего по вашему мнению не хватает нашим журналистам? - Основная проблема всех кыргызстанских СМИ, по моему мнению, - это низкий уровень профессионализма. Кыргызстанским журналистам не хватает оперативности, кроме того, они не обращают внимания на мелочи.
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жизни простых людей. Был такой своеобразный глубокий анализ происходящего того времени. - Как мы поняли из вашей биографии, вам удалось поработать во всех направлениях журналистики. Где вам больше всего понравилось? - Если вы однажды почувствуете вдохновение, то вы уже будете жить в постоянной погоне за этими ощущениями. Не имеет значения, кто вы: журналист, филолог, математик - вы должны быть творческим человеком, чтобы быть лучшим в своей профессии. Что касается меня, я нахожусь в постоянном поиске творческого потенциала, потому что, если я не пишу, не делаю сюжеты, я могу потерять свои способности. А их очень трудно возвратить. Журналистика - творческая профессия, но она очень трудная, именно поэтому она очень интересная. И не важно, на радио или на телевидении ты работаешь. Это журналистика! Соответственно это вечный поиск. - Как на Ваш взгляд развивается современная журналистика? - В последнее время журналисты используют современные технологии. Например, они находят информацию в Интернете, работают с компьютерами, принтерами. Поэтому корреспонденты оперативно и быстро делают свои статьи, сюжеты. К сожалению и в нашей профессии бывают свои недостатки, когда люди не имеющие никакого понятия о том, что такое журналистика начинают делать себе имя грязными методами, это уже печально. Сколько сейчас неквалифицированных журналистов причиняют людям страдания, своими неграмотными материалами. А ведь журналист, должен быть очень корректным и грамотным в первую очередь. Только искоренив враждебность и безответственность, журналистика получит второе дыхание. - Сегодня вы продюсер
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МАСТЕР-КЛАСС “КРАСИВЫЕ НОГТИ” ИНТЕРВЬЮ С МАСТЕРОМ ПО НАРАЩИВАНИЮ НОГТЕЙ И N A I L –A R T -ДИЗАЙНУ МИРНИЯЗОВОЙ ЕКАТЕРИНОЙ ПАВЛОВНОЙ Беседовала Элгиза Кожомкулова О всех тонкостях ногтевого сервиса рассказывает рассказывает Екатерина ей всего 21 год и она уже высококвалифицированный мастер с большой клиентской базой, красивая, успешная и основатель собственного бизнеса. - Екатерина , сколько лет Вы уже работаете в сфере красоты? В сфере красоты, я работаю год. Пришла в профессию из любви к искусству, осознанно, решилась на этот шаг и ничуть не пожалела! Всего лишь год работаю, но благодаря сильной тяге к прекрасному, добилась того, чего другие достигают 9 лет. Также этому поспособствовала поддержка моей наставницы и хорошего друга Дарья Волик с салона Nails.kg. Я очень рада, что занимаюсь любимым делом. - В чем секрет успеха? Несомненно, что для того чтобы Мастер стал успешен, он должен: 1. Искренне любить людей! 2. Взять за правило постоянно повышать квалификацию. 3. Самодисциплина. 4. Быть критичным к своей работе. 5. Быть психологом - уметь наладить личный контакт с любым клиентом. 6. Уметь подобрать дизайн, цвет и форму ногтей, исходя из внешнего вида, стиля и характера клиентки. - Сейчас очень большой выбор салонов и мастеров. Как Вы к этому относитесь? Мастер ногтевого сервиса – это творческая реализация
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AUCA Magazine | June 2013
- Так как же не ошибиться и сделать правильный выбор? Приходите к нам! Мы всегда поможем стать вам еще краше. Наш девиз «Красота спасет мир!». Каждая девушка красива, лишь надо добавить капельку женственности. Ухаживать за собой это одно удовольствие. У нас одни шикарные девушки, но ритм сегодняшней жизни оставляет мало времени на себя и в этой ситуации наращивание ногтей самый удобный вариант для всех. У каждого своя красота, а мы поможем раскрыть ее и добавить еще больше прелести и изыска. Мы вкладываем в качество нашего материала, мы знаем, что каждый когда-либо побывавший у нас клиент обязательно к нам вернется. Хороший материал как жидкие гвозди. Все так плотно ложится на ноготь и держится очень долго и кажется естественным, своим. Недавно общаясь с клиентом, спрашиваю у нее « Почему вы на реставрацию не приходите?», а она “А почему приходить? Ведь все так хорошо держится и блестит, не ломается, ни одной отслойки нет, даже не верится что они наращенные”, а мне очень приятно, что мои клиенты
всегда довольны. - А если девушка не знает, какие именно форма и дизайн ей подойдут? Вполне типичная ситуация. Для этого и нужно потратить время, выбирая хорошего мастера, а дальше уже он будет выбирать для вас наиболее выигрышные варианты. Когда опытный мастер общается с клиенткой, у него складывается некий образ этой девушки: он представляет, как подчеркнуть достоинства и завуалировать недостатки. Учитывается и тип внешности, и прическа, и макияж, и возраст, и стиль поведения, и профессия, и, конечно, строение кисти, форма и длина природной ногтевой пластины - Наращивание ногтей тоже остается в моде? Конечно! Плюс к этому наращивание это удобно, практично, красиво и безопасно. У нас при проведении процедуры наращивания используются исключительно лицензированные, проверенные, надежные препараты, которые не вредят здоровью ногтей, выглядят естественно, модно. - Что для Вас главное в работе? Главное для меня работать честно, с душой и любовью! Делать свою работу с удовольствием и искренне помогать людям радуя их только позитивом.
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Множество других салонов приглашают на свои услуги и обещают сделать все идеально. Но я не боюсь конкуренции, так как, приходящие ко мне клиенты, раз и навсегда остаются моими постоянными и преданными друзьями. Сама по себе я очень общительный и доброжелательный человек, а когда ты предлагаешь за короткий промежуток времени сделать свою работу качественно, недорого, красиво и с душой, конечно, клиенты выбирают тебя.
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+ независимость + хороший доход.
Для меня главное богатство - именно люди, счастье общаться с ними. А также возможность ставить цели и достигать их. Мой девиз «Красота спасет мир!»
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Gifts Spring 2013 Friends of AUCA John and Joan Von Leesen Erol Torun Mary Schweitzer Bill and Ingrid Stafford Martha Merrill Ellen Hurwitz Helen Smith Sharon Bailey Gulnara Dreier Madeleine Reeves Hersh Chadha Henry Myerberg John Couper Andrew Wachtel Gail Kendel Emita Hill Mary Ford Nancy Seurrier Erkin Bek Bridget Morris Frank and Sallie Pullano Board of Trustees Joomart Otorbaev Jonathan Becker Almas Chukin David Lakhdhir Stanislav Karpovich William Newton-Smith Matt Nimetz Aijan Chynybaeva Alumni Nazira Beishenalieva Eliza Damirbek kyzy Lilia Muslimova Vyacheslav Akimenko Temerlan Moldogaziev Alan Niazi Aziz Soltobaev Alina Djumakulova Vitali En Sanjar Tursaliev Rinat Aksianov Nazgul Cholponbaeva Elina Dale Rustam Niyazov Melis Turgunbaev Mamatkhalil Razaev Sayora Mussakhunova Corporate Partners Mol Bulak Finance Kumtor Operating Company Ayu Ltd. Bank of Asia
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AUCA Magazine | June 2013
CATCHING UP WITH: BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ’99 SAPARBEK USUPOV - after graduation, worked for the Kumtor Operating Company. He then switched to MegaCom, working with the team that established the company and developed it into one of the leading communications companies in the country. He then returned to the gold mining industry in Kazakhstan, where he is currently a general manager. HAKIMOVA NARGIZA – has
been living in Melbourne for 9 years. She has worked at National Australia Bank for more than 7 years (it is a non-state bank owned by shareholders). Nargiza also serves as a Lieutenant in the engineering construction battalion of the Australian Army.
MEIMANALIEV ADILETSULTAN - graduated from Harvard
University’s Kennedy School of Government MPA/ID, International Development, 2007 – 2009. He also studied at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Advanced Studies International Master in Social Policy Analysis, 2002 – 2003. Adilet currently works as a consultant for global public policy at Eli Lilly, and lives in Indianapolis.
ASEL VAZIROVA – has worked in state, private and international organizations. Before her admission to AUK she had only a very basic knowledge of English, and had to be convinced by my friend Irina Ten to apply. AUK was really a tough university, and especially so because most of the students had experience studying abroad. Now looking back Asel is very proud to be an alumna. Currently she is working in the Embassy of the United States in the Kyrgyz Republic in the public relations department. AUK opened several doors because of the brand and it’s really worth the money which was invested by my wise parents! NAZIRA SOPIEVA – lives in Munich, Germany. Works as a Manager in DaimlerChrysler ASEL MAICHAKOVA – works at Kumtor Operating Company
ASYL BAKANOVA – has an MA from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and a PhD from Universita della Svizzera Italiana in finance. Asyl worked as a lecturer at AUCA from 20022006, and has conducted research on forecasting and volatility in commodities markets, in particular the crude oil market. Abylmajinova Saadat Musakanovna Alymkulova Aisulu Jekshen-Alievna Badyukova Viktoria Viktorovna Bakanova Asyl Turatbekovna Bostanov Zaur Nazarovich Chynybaeva Aijan Adamkalievna Djakubova Bermet Asylbekovna Dyushembiev Azatbek Akymbekovich Galyamova Dilyara Shamilevna Hakimova Nargiza Alymkulovna Janybek uulu Nurlan Joldoshbekova Adema Mamytbekovna Karimov Roman Borisovich Koshoev Bolot Arstanbekovich Maichakova Asel Danyshbekovna Meimanaliev Adilet-Sultan Tilekbekovich Mirzahakimova Zarina Rahimjanovna Nurmatov Kurmanbek Baiyshevich Orozaliev Urmat Keneshbekovich Orozbaeva Kanykei Jantaevna Oskombaev Askar Kubanuchbekovich Sharipov Marat Adylbekovich Solovyev Yaroslav Yakovlevich Sopieva Nazira Kurmanbekovna Ten Irina Lvovna Torba Aleksandra Viktorovna Turgunalieva Umai Topchubekovna Tyulegenova Bermet Sainidinovna Udodov Sergei Vladimirovich Umuralieva Nazik Maratovna Usupov Saparbek Toktogazievich Vazirova Asel Kulchoroevna Yusupova Alia Nasirdinovna Zaharov Denis Viktorovich
AUCA Magazine | June 2013
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AUCA Magazine | June 2013